Seems Strikeforce Is Having A Heavyweight Tournament.

[Buffalo Dave]

This has been rumored for a few weeks now. Now today it seems official that they are having a Heavyweight tournament composing of 8 fighters in 4 quarter final fights. With the first big match up being Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva. There are two other fights that are rumored right now as well, Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett and Febricio Werdum vs. Brett Rogers. No word yet if their Heavyweight Champion Allistair Overeem is gonna be in the tournament.

The first match Fedor/Silva will be on February 12th. Arlovski/Barnett is also being said to take place the same night. The biggest problem I see with this thing is if Fedor gets past Silva, that is his last fight on his current contract with SF, and we know after every time he fights M-1 causes problems with negotiating his next fight with contract issues, and no new deal has been announced yet for Fedor.

Fedor should have no problem slaying Bigfoot. He is the better all around fighter than him, and will finish the fight sometime in the second round or early in the 3rd round.

If the Arlovski/Barnett bout is true, then we could see a nice stand up battle between the two. Arlovski will need to engage more though if he wants to win this fight and keep it standing as much as possible. He came off sluggish in his last fight against Silva, but showed he still can take shots to the chin. And if Werdum/Rogers goes down, the Werdum should take this fight if he gets Rogers on the ground or could manage not to get caught by one of Rogers big punches and out strike him for three rounds to get a decision. All we seen is Rogers' power shots and nothing else really from him, so Werdum should be able to take this fight as long as he doesn't get caught by one of those punches.

 

[Fizzy]

Ok here is yet another thing I have to complain about. I'm perfectly happy with two of the fights but what the FUCK has Bret Rodgers done to deserve to fight Werdum? I cannot fathom why Werdum is even in the tourny. He just beat the greatest fighter of all time. Let him fight Overeem replace him with someone else and have the winner of the tourny fight the winner of Overeem and Werdum. Fuck Rodgers seriously it's stupid. Werdum fucking deserves a title shot, and Overeem will be on the shelf until after this entire tourny. I'm baffled at this it's utterly rediculous.

 

[Uncle Chester]

Werdum should be fighting Overeem. He just beat the most decorated man in MMA history and he's fighting Rogers? Fucking bullshit. Fedor's management are going to trun this tourney into a fucking joke with their avoidance of somone truly top tier. It's a good way to disguise the weak competition Fedor's facing in Sylvia but it will be ruined since M-1 is in some sort of damage control with Fedor's mystique but just imagine if he actually beat Overeem. Everyone would forget the Werdum bump and stare in amazement at Fedor beating a man who resembles Drederick Tatum.

 

[Uncle Phatso]

Werdum should be fighting Overeem. He just beat the most decorated man in MMA history and he's fighting Rogers? Fucking bullshit. Fedor's management are going to trun this tourney into a fucking joke with their avoidance of somone truly top tier. It's a good way to disguise the weak competition Fedor's facing in Sylvia but it will be ruined since M-1 is in some sort of damage control with Fedor's mystique but just imagine if he actually beat Overeem. Everyone would forget the Werdum bump and stare in amazement at Fedor beating a man who resembles Drederick Tatum.

Wow a Fedor hater, Oh blah blah blah. Fedor fights turds, dude who the cares who he fights. As it was shown in the Werdum fight yes the man can be beat. Who's to say that all of the people before him couldn't of beaten Fedor. Look at Arlovski he was decimating Fedor's chin. But Fedor pulls it out.

And whats this all of the hate of fedor here. You guys say that Fabricio Is the most decorated fighter in mma. But lets look at what Fedor has done like him. He has a black belt in both of his trades, Judo and Sambo. Along with 13 gold medals in one of the toughest fighting sports around in sambo. 13 fucking gold medals people.

You want to go on and say they are avoiding competition, Why the would we want to see Fedor go up aganst Fabricio once again. This is a tourniment dude they will face each other in the finals.

Your going to say that here we go, Kevin randlemen in his prime wasn't a good fighter, either were Big nog, Mark Coleman, Bobby Hoffman, Cro Cop, Heath Herring, Rodgers, and former Ufc heavyweight champs Arlovski, Tim Sylvia arent top tier competition? Your fucking making me laugh here. Everyone looks at the freakshows that Fedor fights, not the brawlers and bigger names in the world heavyweight division.

This is what people want to see, and I never even seen it comming. We want to see Fedor fight Fabricio again. But this is the way to do it! Have the fighters fight it out and basically its a draw up to the inevitable Fedor will most likely face Fabricio in the finals. They both have to fight their way to fight each other.

I'm sure thats not the reason why this tourniment is going on, but its still a good way to sell a final fight between the two.

 

[Uncle Chester]

Wow a Fedor hater, Oh blah blah blah. Fedor fights turds, dude who the cares who he fights. As it was shown in the Werdum fight yes the man can be beat. Who's to say that all of the people before him couldn't of beaten Fedor. Look at Arlovski he was decimating Fedor's chin. But Fedor pulls it out.

And whats this all of the hate of fedor here. You guys say that Fabricio Is the most decorated fighter in mma. But lets look at what Fedor has done like him. He has a black belt in both of his trades, Judo and Sambo. Along with 13 gold medals in one of the toughest fighting sports around in sambo. 13 fucking gold medals people.

You want to go on and say they are avoiding competition, Why the would we want to see Fedor go up aganst Fabricio once again. This is a tourniment dude they will face each other in the finals.

Your going to say that here we go, Kevin randlemen in his prime wasn't a good fighter, either were Big nog, Mark Coleman, Bobby Hoffman, Cro Cop, Heath Herring, Rodgers, and former Ufc heavyweight champs Arlovski, Tim Sylvia arent top tier competition? Your fucking making me laugh here. Everyone looks at the freakshows that Fedor fights, not the brawlers and bigger names in the world heavyweight division.

This is what people want to see, and I never even seen it comming. We want to see Fedor fight Fabricio again. But this is the way to do it! Have the fighters fight it out and basically its a draw up to the inevitable Fedor will most likely face Fabricio in the finals. They both have to fight their way to fight each other.

I'm sure thats not the reason why this tourniment is going on, but its still a good way to sell a final fight between the two.

It matters who he fights because the fans want to see him fight good competition. If Fedor wants to fight shit competition than I as a fan have the right to criticize his picks and question his mantle. How the holy fuck am I a Fedor hater. He’s the greatest heavyweight of all time, present time he hasn’t proven himself against the best but of all time of course Fedor’s the best.

Fedor hate? Against your blind love for a fighter who hasn’t fought the best. No Fedor is the most decorated fighter lol you’re a bit slow. Werdum has shit stand up, wrestling is below average and the only thing he has is BJJ (world class as it is) but he’s not a top fighter by any stretch of the imagination. Anybody who’s ever claimed Werdum is the most decorated fighter in MMA is a fool.

We said we wanted the greatest of all time to go up against the greatest new comer in MMA and MMA’s most exciting prospect, a Werdum rematch is second to that matchup. That’s the problem, once Fedor faces Sylvia his contract expires and his management is going to get pissy about him fighting Overeem not Werdum ( because 98% he will beat Werdum).

Are you fucking delusional to think Sylvia is a top tier fighter? Arlovski is a shadow of his former self and as is Nog.

Remember we are not questioning Fedor’s prime when he was beating the top heavyweights at that time just the present.

 

[jmt225]

I agree with the majority here... this idea is pretty damn dumb.

I also think Werdum vs. Rogers is a ridiculous fight. I'd much rather see Werdum vs. Arlovski 2 and Barnett vs. Rogers over that shit. It would make much more sense, but Goddamn none of Strikeforce's booking ever makes any sense. They so badly want to protect their guys. One day it's really going to come back and bite them in the ass (and it could if Rogers knocks Werdum's ass out, which is definitely possible). They have to realize that fans don't care about wins and losses... they care about great, meaningful fights.

And Big Foot Silva is most definitely a worthy opponent for Fedor. Silva nearly beat Werdum in their last fight (in fact you could make a slight argument that Silva won; he definitely would have if it were a 5 Round fight), while actually going move-for-move with him on the ground (quite impressive, if you ask me). And while Big Foot's striking isn't superb, it is still pretty fucking good regardless, as we saw when he dominate Arlovski on the feet in their fight against one another.

I fully expect Fedor to kick Big Foot's ass, but that's only because Fedor is the greatest fighter to ever walk the face of the Earth, not because I think Big Foot Silva is shit.

 

[Super Hans]

The brackets are Fedor vs Big Foot and Overeem vs Werdum, the other half of the draw is Arlovski vs Kharitonov and Rogers vs Barnett, seems strange to have Werdum, Fedor and Overeem in the same half of the draw. Will most likely be like the super 6 in boxing, looking great on paper and ultimately turn out to be dissapointing, i hope not but thats the feeling i get.

 

[INDYjon22]

Strikeforce’s rumored eight-man heavyweight tournament has become reality, and the promotion has officially announced the bracket’s four opening-round matchups.

Sherdog.com was informed Tuesday by sources close to the tournament that Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Silva, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Sergei Kharitonov, Andrei Arlovski, Brett Rogers and Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will compete in the upcoming tournament. That lineup was later confirmed by a press release from Strikeforce.

As reported yesterday by Sherdog.com, the tournament is scheduled to kick off with an Emelianenko-Silva bout as the main event of a Feb. 12 card at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Also featured on that show will be a quarterfinal bout between Arlovski and Kharitonov, as opposed to the originally reported Arlovski-Barnett matchup.

The remaining two quarterfinals will reportedly go down March 5 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Barnett is scheduled to square off with Rogers, while Overeem will meet Werdum. The date and location of these two fights have not officially been announced by the promotion. The tournament’s semifinal and final rounds will be held later in the year at to-be-named events.

The promotion will also hold two alternate bouts as insurance in case one of the main card participants should sustain an injury or be rendered otherwise unable to compete. “Challengers” series standouts Daniel Cormier, Lavar Johnson, Shane del Rosario will likely compete, though the fourth alternate fighter is unknown at this time.

Also unknown is how Barnett’s ongoing licensing situation in California will affect his participation. The former Pride Fighting Championships competitor allegedly tested positive for performance enhancing substances prior to a scheduled bout with Emelianenko in July 2009. Barnett’s hearing before the CSAC on Dec. 2 was pushed back to 2011. Reports indicate that he may go before the commission again on Feb. 4.

First off, I am a sucker for tournaments, and even though this thing doesn't make all that much sense, I am not completely opposed to the idea. That said, here is the updated information on said tournament. I am actually somewhat pleased by the match ups, though I am disgusted by the fact that Strikeforce has snubbed Werdum vs. Overeem for the title, unless that is what their fight will end up being, which would be even more confusing honestly. Werdum and Overeem should not be in the tournament but I guess it sort of makes sense that they are fighting each other in the first round.

I absolutely love the match up of Arlovski vs. Kharitonov. That fight should be very fun. Silva vs. Fedor is another good match up, as is the Barnett vs. Rogers fight, which actually intrigues me more then the orginally proposed Arlovski vs. Barnett fight. While some of you may be against this tournament, and I am not blaming any of you because this thing may very well turn into a complete clusterfuck, but I am actually very interested in this thing right now. I really anticipate seeing AA back in action.

 

[Via Armbar]

I was with the majority of people here with the disappointment on how this tournament was laid out. There has been an update however and things are looking like this now:

Fedor vs Silva Arlovski vs Kharitonov
Overeem vs Werdum Barnett vs Rogers

WAY better honestly. Every single matchup that was changed is better really. Overeem vs Werdum should be great and Fabricio really deserves it after dethroning Emelianenko. Fedor by all means should smash Big Foot but I have a bad feelings that Silva may use his weight to hold Fedor down and work his way to a bullshit decision. Here's hoping Fedor is in great form and submits him or knocks out massive ass out. Arlovski versus Sergei should be an interesting fight, I'll take Kharitonov though as The Pitbulls chin is pretty much missing in action nowadays. Rogers versus Barnett seems to be the weakest fight here and if Barnett doesn't fail a piss test expect him to get to the finals.

My only complaint is the lack of balance here. I guarantee that a fighter from the first bracket will take the entire thing and the weakest four fighters are all on the other side. I was really hoping or a Fedor/Overeem final. Here's how I would reorganize it:

Fedor vs Kharitonov Overeem versus Arlovski
Werdum vs Rogers Barnett vs Silva

That's only so Fedor could avenge his loss to Werdum and meet Overeem in the finals.

 

[jmt225]

Yeah, while I still don't like the idea of a tournament, I am LOVING these new match-ups!

I already went over Fedor vs. Big Foot Silva, so no comment there.

Overeem vs. Werdum... well, it's about time. I like Werdum a lot, but I just don't see how he's able to defeat Overeem here. There is absolutely no way he is able to get the fight to the ground. The only way he wins is if Overeem makes the same mistake Fedor did, but I don't think that's possible. First of all, Overeem won't just stun Werdum, he'll put him out cold. Secondly, if he does stun the guy, he'll have the brains to not pounce on him, or at the very least he'll pounce while being very aware about Werdum's BJJ.

Brett Rogers vs. Josh Barnett just makes sense. Rogers is coming off of two straight losses against the two best Heavyweights in the World, while Barnett is coming off the steroid stuff. This will make one fighter into a true contender, while the other will be sent packing as he should.

However, out of all the fights, I actually think I'm most excited for Sergei Kharitonov vs. Andrei Arlovski. Both are legends of the sport who haven't looked their best lately, but man... this should end up being one hell of a battle. I think Arlovski should look to take the fight to the ground though, because Sergei's striking is simply superb. Regardless, should be a fantastic fight, and one that starts the resurgence of one of these two, two of the most exciting heavyweights in MMA history.

 

[INDYjon22]

Contrary to initial reports, Alistair Overeem’s Strikeforce heavyweight title will not be on the line at any point during the promotion’s upcoming heavyweight grand prix.

Since the eight-man, single-elimination tournament was formally announced in early January, word has circulated that Overeem’s title would be up for grabs in each of the champion’s bouts. During a Thursday media conference call, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker clarified both the rules and structure of the tournament.

“The winner of the final match will be crowned Strikeforce World Grand Prix champion, and he’ll receive an opportunity to fight for the Strikeforce heavyweight belt at that time,” Coker explained. If Overeem were to come out on top, Coker said that Strikeforce would look at having the reigning champ fight an opponent whom he did not meet in the tournament.

Along with Overeem, the bracket includes such notable heavyweights as Fedor Emelianenko, Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva, Josh Barnett and Andrei Arlovski. The tournament is set to begin on Feb. 12 at Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Silva,” which takes place at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. The promotion is still shopping for a location and date for the tournament’s second round. Coker stated that “pending injuries, the semifinals would be late June, July.”

While it was initially thought that each tournament bout would consist of five, five-minute rounds, all quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be scheduled for the standard three five-minute periods. Only the tournament final remains a five-round affair.

“We just didn’t feel that it was fair for one person to fight five rounds, one person to fight three rounds,” said Coker. “There was debate about, well, should the final fight -- which is five rounds -- be a title fight? But then, what if Alistair wasn’t there? It just became very confusing.”

In the case that any of the tournament’s matches are ruled a draw, Coker revealed that a fourth judge will be on hand to score the bout independently and select a winner “based on overall performance.” The rule is similar to that of longtime official Nelson “Doc” Hamilton’s proposed Martial Arts Specific Scoring system.

Of course, with any tournament comes the possibility of a participant being sidelined by injury. While a trio of reserve bouts has been booked for the Feb. 12 event, Coker said that the selection process for a replacement fighter, if needed, would be more involved than a simple swap.

“If a fighter qualifies to advance in the tournament but, for any reason, cannot advance, we’re forming a five-person tournament review committee who will select a fighter to advance in his place,” said Coker. “This fighter will be chosen from a pool of fighters that includes the previous opponent and the winners of the reserve matches.”

Heading the tournament review committee will be Strikeforce rules director Cory Schafer. Names of the other tournament committee members and further tournament rules are expected to be released shortly.

I am fairly excited for this tournament but shit like this just pisses me off. The title not being on the line basically defeats the purpose of having the fucking tournament, especially if Overeem wins the damn thing. Why would someone who did not win the tournament deserve a shot at the belt? They would have lost somewhere along the way. It is just a stupid rationale to put someone who got knocked out of the tournament in a title fight. Plus, say someone like Werdum wins the tournament, not only would he have defeated the champion already but he would have to beat him again for the belt. Pure stupidity on Coker's part. Reem should be defending the title the entire way. He wants to be a fighting champion and all Strikeforce is doing is making the title look like a joke. I am still excited for this tournament, the fights should be a ton of fun to watch, but the setup for the tournament is moronic.

 

[Ace Sleeper]

The title not being on the line is absolutely ridiculous. The potential of someone beating Alistair Overeem and winning the tournament, only to have to fight him again for the title this time is plain stupid. This has the potential of a great tournament or a cluster fuck of an idea. Really looking forward to the matches though. I'm taking Overeem or Fedor to win, and Barnett as the ringer. I only hope that at the end of this Overeem's title gets taken away so that we can have a champion that actually defends, and not someone who makes one show a year.

 

[jmt225]

I honestly don't have a problem with it.

I mean, let's face facts... the SF Heavyweight Title is worthless anyway. Winning this tournament is, and should be, more prestigious than winning the belt at this point. It also sets up a HUGE fight at the end of the tournament, for the Heavyweight title, thus making the belt actually important for a change. And hopefully from there Strikeforce will continue the momentum it gets from this tournament for the Heavyweights and its championship.

But yeah... fuck a belt. This tournament is going to be filled with awesome fights, which is all that matters to me.